Israeli Company Digitizes Congo’s Criminal Database

By Ariel Grossman, NoCamels November 21, 2022 2 minutes

The Democratic Republic of the Congo's flag. Israeli company Pangea will digitize its criminal database, under a $70 million contract. Courtesy jorono from Pixabay

An Israeli company has secured a $70 million contract to digitize the database of criminals for the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s government.

Pangea will develop and operate an advanced criminal biometric system – which will identify people based on their physical traits – to generate Certificates of Integrity, or non-criminal record, for Congo’s citizens.

The project follows the Congolese government’s decision to promote the digitization of government services in the country.

The nationwide digital database will include demographic and biometric details of offenders listed in the archive, and will be accessible from 150 police stations across the country. It will also have crime investigation capabilities based on fingerprints and handprints.

Pangea, which supplies digital transformation solutions for businesses, has experience in implementing biometric and IT systems for governmental agencies in countries worldwide.

It has established digital population registries, helping governments provide identity cards, passports, visas, driver licenses, birth and death certificates, and other documents for the first time.

The documents were provided to tens of millions of unregistered residents, who until then could not enjoy government services or even pay taxes.

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Pangea’s technology simplifes e-government procedures, improves availability and accessibility to public services, and increases public sector efficiency, governance, and transparency.

Rafi Kaminer, the company’s President and CEO, said: “We thank the Congolese Government for its confidence in Pangea’s technological and operational capabilities and for allowing us to set up this vital project.

“Pangea continues to develop capabilities and innovations in our areas of expertise, including new products for eKYC and Smart Border Control. These capabilities will become unique products in the next few months and generate significant revenue in the next few years.”

Uzy Rozenthal, EVP and GM Government Division at Pangea, said: “Digital government services are essential to countries’ long-term growth, especially those with tremendous economic potential like Congo DRC.

“Today, we’re able to advance with such a strategic project in a remarkably short period of time and achieve major transformation with solutions that have proven themselves around the world.”